Among all the subordinates Yuto could realistically find in a short time, Aramaki was the strongest. Which was why Yuto had decided to hand him his first real task.
Track down a Devil Fruit.
The Mera Mera no Mi that even dogs would turn their nose up at, the Goro Goro no Mi on Skypiea, the Mythical Zoan Vampire Fruit in Sleepy Ancient Town, the Mythical Zoan Pink Dragon on Punk Hazard, the Ope Ope no Mi in North Blue…
Any Fruit whose location was known or could be traced, Yuto did not intend to let slip through his fingers.
This ghost type Paramecia, the Ghost Ghost Fruit, was just a small test run for Aramaki.
Yuto was still thinking about which other Fruits were suitable for a clean steal when Stella's voice drifted over.
"Your Highness, that girl is awake."
Yuto stood up and headed into the cabin with Stella in tow.
Perona was sitting on the bed, eyes still a little glazed. The moment she saw Yuto, she very obviously shrank back.
Yuto gave her a slow once over, then nodded in satisfaction. A wicked smile tugged at his lips.
"Congratulations. From today on, you are my little slave."
"Waaah! I do not want to be a little slave!"
…
Yuto had never thought of himself as having a particularly nasty personality, but when he looked at Perona, he always felt the urge to bully her a little.
Maybe it was because, right now, she looked exactly like the kind of little girl who would cry for a long time after a single punch.
Or maybe Perona's image in the original story had simply ingrained itself too deeply in his heart.
Either way…
"Ahahahahaha."
Watching Perona cry again, Yuto laughed out loud.
"Not bad. At least you did not faint this time. So then, why were you on that ship?"
Perona's sobbing gradually died down. She snuck a cautious glance at Yuto, then peeked at Stella behind him, and finally started talking in her soft, milky voice.
There was nothing particularly dramatic about her story.
Her hometown had been attacked by pirates. After fleeing from place to place, Perona had finally snuck aboard that merchant ship.
Since she had gotten on the ship secretly, she could not let the crew find her, so she hid in the storeroom. By sheer coincidence, she discovered the hidden compartment under the floorboards and crawled inside.
After listening, Yuto smiled and pinched her tiny cheek.
"So what you are saying is, you do not have anywhere to go now. In that case, just stay on my ship."
"He does not seem that awful."
Seeing his smile, Perona's heart loosened a little, and she hesitantly asked, "Then… am I still a little slave?"
"Of course."
Watching her face scrunch up like she was about to cry all over again, Yuto left laughing.
Stella shook her head helplessly and went over to comfort Perona.
She had never taken care of a child before, but her warm, optimistic smile had a soothing effect all on its own. Perona soon stopped crying.
She waved a tiny fist in the direction Yuto had gone, her heart filled with indignation.
"I am definitely going to escape from this big jerk someday."
…
Meanwhile, Aramaki had finished searching the merchant ship without finding anything and had already boarded Thriller Bark's massive hull.
He frowned the moment he stepped on deck.
Dark green slime oozed from the cracks between the floorboards. Withered corpses dangled from the mast, swaying in the sea breeze like marionettes.
The hull had been deliberately designed to block out natural light. In the dim glow of the ship's lamps, your own shadow twisted on the walls into something unfamiliar, sometimes sprouting an extra arm, sometimes losing an eye.
The only sound in the silent corridors was the slow, rhythmic clank of chains being dragged across the floor.
"So much pointless flair."
Aramaki snorted.
Huge wooden spikes sprouted from his body, tearing through the cabin in an instant.
Two tree spears, large enough that two grown men would have to hold hands to encircle them, shot through the air like javelins straight toward Moria's position.
"Who is there?"
Moria had been toying with the little pirates he had just captured and only reacted at the very last moment, scrambling out of the way.
He was not yet the bloated shut in he would become years later, and an attack like that probing strike was not enough to trouble him.
He raised his head in fury, only to see Aramaki already standing in front of him.
Aramaki was three meters tall. Moria was close to seven. Standing face to face, Aramaki looked almost like a child.
But the pressure between them was the exact opposite.
Aramaki smiled faintly.
"So you are Moria. The trash on this sea really are something else. Even someone like you can be called a great pirate."
"You little nobody. You have no idea who you are talking to. I am not someone a nameless small fry like you can judge."
Moria's emotions had been unstable for a long time. Hearing Aramaki's words sent his temper flaring again. He spat his threat and immediately moved to attack.
"Shadow Asgard Spear."
His strike pierced the spot where Aramaki had just been standing.
But Aramaki's body was already gone.
"What?"
"Over here."
Two voices overlapped.
Moria turned his head in panic and saw Aramaki above him, one hand already pressed on his onion shaped head.
When Garp used this move, even Kuzan had not been able to react. Moria did not stand a chance.
Boom.
Aramaki slammed Moria's head straight into the floor, carving a deep crater into the planks.
"Trash like you should just find some deserted corner and quietly wait to die."
He stepped on Moria's body and nudged the still woozy "onion head" with his foot.
"Where are the Devil Fruits you have been collecting?"
"You… what are you… Someone as strong as you, how could you be completely unknown out at sea?"
Moria felt utterly wronged.
He had not even used half of his full strength before being completely floored.
Hearing that question instead of an answer, Aramaki's brows drew together and he kicked Moria in the head again.
"I am the one asking questions. Where are the Fruits you collected?"
That second kick left Moria dazed for quite a while before he finally came back to his senses.
He immediately started roaring and ranting again, leaving Aramaki feeling a mild headache.
This was exactly why Yuto had never seriously considered recruiting these so called great pirates.
Most of them acted like they could not understand human speech. For every strange reason under the sun, they were willing to risk their lives.
And the things they cared about most were usually illusions or ideals Yuto could never actually give them.
The thing they cared least about was their own life, which meant he could not even threaten them properly.
In the end, Aramaki could only resort to some… vigorous memory recovery.
After a long bout of rough handling, he finally found two Devil Fruits in a secret compartment deep inside the ship. Without hesitation, he left Moria lying there with a swollen, bruised face and headed back.
…
Having teased Perona to his heart's content, Yuto was in an excellent mood.
He left the cabin and happened to arrive on deck just as Aramaki landed from the sky using Geppo, two boxes cradled in his hands.
"Your Highness. I found two Devil Fruits on Moria's island ship."
He stepped forward and opened both boxes in front of Yuto.
Yuto glanced down and immediately recognized the patterns.
Paramecia type, Ghost Ghost Fruit.
Paramecia type, Clear Clear Fruit.
They were the very same Fruits that would one day belong to Perona and Absalom.